Tuesday, 5 August 2014

The Classics: Tales from Grimm

Popular author of The Mousehole Cat and many other
children’s books, Antonia Barber has retold 9 classic fairytales by the
brothers Grimm. Companion to the gift edition of Tales from Hans Christian Anderson by Naomi Lewis, and published at
the same time through Frances Lincoln Children’s Books, it is presented in an
almost identical format with an outstanding jacket.

The stunning end pages are
the first thing you see when you open the cover. It’s a welcome into the world
of the imagination made immortal by these storytellers. The equally stunning
illustrations transform the text into a visual feast to drag you back to your
childhood when mystery, surprise and awe awaited on every page.

This collection contains
favourites made new, but with a taste of the old flavouring the tale through
Antonia Barber’s retelling. They include The
Frog Prince, Hansel and Gretel, Briar-Rose, Rapunzel, Little Red-Cap, The
Golden Goose, Snow White, Sweet Porridge and the Elves and the Shoemaker, one of my favourites.

This gorgeous publication
to own or gift, has many full page illustrations. Some smaller ones are placed
at random within the text, others at the top or bottom. A creation of great
beauty, this book of fairytales suits all ages. It can be read alone, read to
younger children, or enjoyed for its beauty and content by older lovers of
fairytales.